Managing Females - First Time Moms!

First time mommas are a hand full, mostly because they can’t call their mom and ask if this is normal! Most do well, but with a little care, we can make first litter moms as effective as an older mom in puppy care.

45% of the losses with females happen in first time moms, but most breeders rarely loose a puppy with any mom, because they know the issues they face and prevent them! First time moms are young and need reassurance. A puppy’s eyes are not open and they do rooting behavior to find the nipple, but first time moms don’t realize a puppy isn’t positioned to eat – older moms will tuck them. You can help them find the nipple and get a full tummy. Not eating goes with puppies getting cold. Once chilled, females will do “Bitch culling” and set the puppy aside not knowing what else to do.

Solving Bitch Culling:

Keep them warm until comfortable and sleeping normally on their side or tummy. Once warm, return the puppy to mom for care. She will take them back with no issues if their body temp is around 100°F. A rectal thermometer will help tell you they are ready.

Our job is to be sure that the puppy eats, that they are warm enough, and that they are content. Older moms nurture and mother consistently the 1st week, do a good job the 2nd week, and by the 3rd and 4th week they are getting kid-worn and will let you have them if you want. New moms often take one week to get into the mothering, nurturing groove.

A Few Things Breeders Do To Help:

If Mom isn’t happy – puppies die! Whelping box (MagnaBox Whelping Box) location is vital for first time moms and it needs to be where mom is most comfortable. Move new moms 2 weeks before expected date of delivery and get her comfortable with the whelping area. Recent case: Owner put a house dog and first time mom into the kennel whelp area when she came into labor – 11 puppies born. She lost 3 in 24 hours and 3 more looked like they were “going south” (owners words). We moved the whelp box to the breezeway between the house and garage and fed the puppies one time with Foster care milk replacer for energy and warmed them up with hot water bottle in a cardboard box. Gave mom back the puppies once warm and the owner made sure all puppies found the nipple several times a day. Mom was comfortable and did fine from that point on – 8 puppies are now 3 weeks old and doing well.

Good mothers raise daughters that are good mothers. If their mom was a good mother, they get it by 48 hours and need little monitoring after that. If their mom was not a good mother, the first week is monitoring and assurance until they get it right.

Tired moms don’t mother well! Moms should birth their puppies in 12 hours. 18 hours is starting to get too long and never go over 24 hours or we start losing puppies. Some will die at birth and some will fade the first week because of long labor and low oxygen.

Prevention That Helps:

Give moms calcium gel, like Breeders' Edge® ORAL CAL PLUS when they start to whelp and repeat after every other puppy. Gel is absorbed through their mouth – they don’t have to swallow when nauseated while in labor. This helps with more effective uterine contractions and a quicker delivery.

Red raspberry leaf extracts eases labor by soothing the cramping of ligaments that happen before birth and between contractions. Cramping pain wears moms out and tired moms do not mother well! Used by the Indians, raspberry leaf extract makes first time moms better mothers! Use liquid (1tbs/gal of water) for 3 weeks before whelping or just give Breeders' Edge® OXY-MATE™ PRENATAL , it contains Raspberry leaf extract.

Calming the nervous female the first few days is helpful. We don’t want moms doped up, just mellow enough so they calmly think about what they are doing and nurse their babies. Herbal products are best at that – Chamomile or Motherwort are the common herbal products used. Breeders’ Edge® OXY-MOMMA™ postnatal vitamins have Motherwort in it for calming and recovery.

Pheromones have been used to calm, but tend to take days to take effect and have not stopped issues with nervous mothering. They are a help with loud noises and stress. We have used them with kennel remodeling to calm mothers and with thunder storms that scare dogs. They have been helpful in both these situations, but worth a try if moms are anxious over sounds in the environment.

Most moms have little or no problems, but first time moms have many issues we can help with. Manage moms for prevention of issues with prenatal vitamins and identify puppies not doing well and take steps to correct the issue. First time moms can’t call their mom and ask if this baby is OK – you are that go to person. Use prenatal vitamins to ease mom into milking while monitoring babies for tummies that are full and having them warm is always a win for you and for the puppy!

The materials, information and answers provided through this website are not intended to replace the medical advice or services of a qualified veterinarian or other pet health care professional. Consult your own veterinarian for answers to specific medical questions, including diagnosis, treatment, therapy or medical attention.